Cheap, reliable and worksBy Kyleon 1/2/2013

Way cheaper than competition but does not show in its quality. Works great so far and does what it needs to do..top off.

unreliable for me alsoBy 241wrasseon 1/2/2013

241wrasse wouldn't recommend this product to a friend

Low cost is nice, but in this case you get what you pay for, & I'd rather pay a little more for an important function.

Went on vacation for a week, thank God I had a tank sitter - he found the sump water level dangerously low 3 days into my vacation, with the return pump spouting tons of bubbles into the display tank. Good thing the return pump didn't run dry - would've fried it. Could've gone the opposite way, with the ATO pump running until it overflowed the sump!

Randomly it'll quit working - pump light is on but pump not engaged, confirmed the pump is fully functional. ATO box has to be powered off & back on, usually it'll reset back to normal the first time it's power-cycled.

Update-Bad BuyBy Ronon 12/28/2012

Ron wouldn't recommend this product to a friend

This is an update to my review below. Initially was having problems with it automatically timing out randomly when it would turn the aqualifter on. Was leaving for vaction for three weeks and had no time to get a replacement. Worked around it by having the reefkeeper turn it off an reset it every 45 minutes. I've been monitoring it by cam while I'm on vacation. 10 days in, I wake up this morning and log in and one of my water alarms is going off. It has failed now in the on position. Every 45 minutes when the reefkeeper rests it, it's kicking on for the max of 14 before it times out. Can't tell if my floor is flooded yet and had to make an emergency call to a friend that's been checking on the tank to head over and unplug the damn thing. Total junk, thanks JBJ. If you are using this, I highly recommend you don't rely on it to go on vacation.

Simple and EffectiveBy Josephon 12/27/2012

Joseph would recommend this product to a friend

Easy setup and works great with 1/2 hose and MJ1200. Dont forget to get a pump when buying this. After research I decided not to go with the aqualifter pump due to head pressure and friction loss in tiny tubing.. Get a better pump and this unit and your set.

Best buyBy Josephon 12/22/2012

Joseph would recommend this product to a friend

Another great JBJ product, couldn't be easier than this. Works great, a must have for anyone using a sump.

Does exactly what I wantedBy Chadon 12/15/2012

Chad would recommend this product to a friend

This ATO does exactly what you expect it to do. JBJ gives you a few options on how you would set it up, and although I am not an expert I think they include every applicable way to work an ATO.

I have one sensor in the third chamber of my sump and the other in a bucket full of fresh RO/DI water. When the water level in the sump gets low, it fills it. If the sensor in the bucket gets triggered it stops pumping water, which saves the pump.

I paired this with a Marineland Maxi-jet 400.

UNRELIABLE FOR MEBy Ronon 12/8/2012

Ron wouldn't recommend this product to a friend

I just got the JBJ ATO and it's doing the same thing others have reported on various forums. Randomly, sometimes as much as once an hour, the controller turns on but with in a few seconds goes into time out mode shutting the pump off. I have it set to the max, which lets it run for about 13 1/2 minutes when it's working the way it's suppose to. Some have said the aqualifter may not be drawing enough power, like the reefkeeper problem with Koralia pumps on the solid state relays. I plugged a lamp in, in addition to the aqualifter with no change. So I'm not blaming the aqualifter at this point. Power draw doesn't seem to be the problem. I believe it's a problem with the electronics of the ATO itself. I found a work around on the internet of putting a timer on the ATO using my reefkeeper. Once an hour the reefkeeper turns the ATO off and back on resetting it. This works fine, but my confidence in the ATO isn't that great since I have to manipulate it to work. If the timeout becomes frequent enough, eventually it won't keep up, and worried it will end up having some other failure. Wishing I would have went with the Tunze now, which I'll probably do, and end up almost $300 into an ATO vs $200 if I had bought the Tunze from the beginning. I love BRS, but looking at the return policy for the first time, it states warranty issues must go through the manufacturer, vs. being able to return a defective product directly to BRS. I'd like to swap it for a Tunze, rather than trying to get it fixed or replaced. So that was a disappointment also. Buy yourself a different ATO.

Many limitations, one fatal flaw for meBy Davidon 12/2/2012

David wouldn't recommend this product to a friend

Don't be fooled by two float switches - they don't work as you'd expect. Instead of redundancy - 1 "high" switch as a backup in case the "low" switch fails or is blocked - it's just 1 switch for minimum water level and 1 switch for maximum water level (Mode B). Or 1 switch in the ATO reservoir to protect the pump from running dry (Mode A). Anyone serious about safe ATO wants redundant switches in the sump/tank. Now I have to decide if I want the Tunze or DIY with my controller.
More minor concerns are the mounting brackets for the float switches. They don't fit over the rim of my tank very well and the height setting is adjustable in only large increments.
The float switch "guards" don't look like they'd keep anything out - any small to medium size snail could get in there and block the float's motion.
All together a disaster waiting to happen.

SIMPLE LOW COST OPTION FOR ATO. SIMPLY WORKS.By Kevinon 12/2/2012

Kevin would recommend this product to a friend

I've ordered two now, one about a year ago for my main tank and now this for my pico. ATO units don't need to be complicated. They just need to do three things:

-Transfer water from a reservoir to your sump/tank.

-Not overflow your sump/tank.

-Shutoff when reservoir is empty to prevent pump failure.

This product does all three, but does not come with a pump so I'd recommend the aqualifter.

ReliableBy brianon 11/30/2012

brian would recommend this product to a friend

Feels a little cheap but runs like a champ. I've had one for over a year with no hiccups and just ordered another one for a frag tank.

Bad product failed after 2 monthsBy Martinon 11/23/2012

Martin wouldn't recommend this product to a friend

I really regret this buy.....got it for a friend tank....My 2 Tank are on an Osmolator....never had issue....But the JBJ failed to restart after a power outage....no more light nothing !

Don't waste your moneyBy APOon 11/15/2012

APO wouldn't recommend this product to a friend

Had this unit and really liked it at first. It seemed to work fine just as advertised. 6 months in the controller has stopped working and emptied my reserve almost causing a major disaster. I figured this was just a stuck float or something but it was not, unit no longer works. Save your money and buy the bigger dosing pump with a timer or even better allow a controller to do it for you.